Best Halloween Decoration Reviews 2018

The battle for the title of the most creatively macabre has begun, and we know you wouldn’t mind clinching it this Halloween. We also know that the number of decorations out there is confusing, so we went out and searched the market for five of the best Halloween decoration brands. We’ve reviewed a decoration from each of them here, and we hope it’s of help to you. If you’d still like more options, you can check their other Halloween decorations. We also have reviews on Halloween decoration ideas, scary Halloween decoration, indoor Halloween decoration, classic Halloween decoration, Halloween props, and Halloween home décor. You’re welcome to check those out as well.

Overview

PROS

CONS

SPECS

Type

Theme

Material

Size

Convenience

Our Top Choice

AtmosFEARfx Ghostly Apparitions

AtmosFX is a cool visual effects studio that exists to kick your celebrations and holidays up a notch with dramatic digital decorations.

Collection of eerily ghostly scenes in DVD format. Projects on various surfaces in and outside your house. Great sound effects. Scary and entertaining.

Some might find it somewhat expensive.

Apparitions

Ghosts

Projection kit

Not applicable

Can be used repeatedly

Best Value

Rubie’s Star Wars Candy Bowl Holder

Rubie’s prides itself on being the largest manufacturer and supplier of extraordinary costumes and decorations for Halloween and other such occasions in the world today.

How Do I Choose the Best Halloween Decoration?

It’s October already, and the countdown to the day when all things weird, wacky, and spooky are liberated to roam the earth has begun. October 31st is the one day in the year when the regular and normal is not just cool; the one day when everyone, young and old, stern and playful, gives free rein to their imaginations and lives out their fears or fantasies. It’s a day when the big bad wolves, terrible fire-breathing dragons, and witches on broomsticks come out to play. Yup, there is everything to love about Halloween, especially if your costumes and decorations are set and ready to go. Hold on, they aren’t? It’s okay, we’re here to help.

Choosing Halloween decorations is a no-brainer when you have a theme; it helps you know the décor, props, and costumes to buy. So, what’s your theme? Are you going to turn your house into a house of ghostly horrors, or would you prefer a witchy approach? How about doing something vampire-related with coffins, bats, blood bags, and cobwebs? There are countless themes for you to choose from, and just as many decorations to work with, so you don’t have to worry about finding decorative items.

The Halloween decorator has a lot of options to choose from in today’s market, but there are items that are basic and are synonymous with the season. Take the Jack-O-Lantern, for instance. The chubby pumpkin with triangular eyes and uneven teeth is a Halloween classic. It’s easy to make one; all you’ll need is a healthy pumpkin and a good set of carving knives. But if you’d rather not make one, you can buy a foam model. If you’re doing something with castles, such as Game of Thrones or Hotel Transylvania, decorative pieces as simple as tastefully horrific – or elegant – candles, candle holders, or candelabras will work wonders for your space.

Technology is doing so much to take the celebration to the next level, with animated haunters, shrieking skulls, and glowing skeletons. The good thing is that they aren’t difficult to use. All you may need are projectors or batteries, and a wall, window, or door, and you’re set. Combine these with some banners, tombstones, and cobwebs, and sprinkle in some creepy crawlies and you've got it. We hope you find our guide useful on your prowl for great Halloween decorations.

Price

When it comes to pricing Halloween decorations, a lot comes into play. The material, size, features, and quantity of the decorations go a long way in determining how much you’ll be shelling out for them. Let’s say you're going for a graveyard theme with grave walkers, coffins, skeletons, and all the works. If you decide to buy all of these, you just might end up spending a sizeable amount of cash. You’ll probably need at least two lawn stakes shaped like some horribly disfigured zombie trying to break out from its earthy confines, animal and human skeletons (certainly not the real things, please) –and of course, a skeleton body suit, tombstones, and more.

Unless you’ve set aside a huge budget for Halloween decorating, shopping for all these at once might cut a hole in your pocket. Plan and shop in advance. Post-Halloween sales in the first weeks of November offer great discounts. Buy good quality decorations that you can reuse. Cheap Halloween decorations may not last through Halloween night, let alone till next year. Having said all that, most Halloween decorations fall in a $9 to $60 price range; Halloween décor can be found for even more, though.

Features

If you’re looking to get voted the one with the spookiest house in the neighborhood, you’re going to have to pay attention to choosing the decorations. We’ve provided some of the important stuff you’ve got to look for below:

Theme

Type

Material

Size

Convenience

Construction and Design

Halloween decorations can be made with a diverse range of materials, such as metal, plastic, wood, fabric, rubber, fiberglass and more. They can be regular Halloween favorites or unique custom-made items, but one thing that they all have in common is that they’re creepy, fun, and creative. The decorating options and designs are becoming increasingly varied, as there are new trends each season and the clever minds behind the production of this stuff are always on their toes to wow us with splendid decorations. The type of decoration is basically dependent on the design. It can be animated, digital, inflatable, or more traditional.

Technology brings your fears to life, thanks to LED-lit eyes on animated hairy creeping and flying things, life-size projected ghouls and monsters, and talking decorations. You can place little critters, bones, and skulls in strategic positions around within and outside your house, and smile as unsuspecting guests scream or jump in fear.

Performance and Ease of Use

Getting the most rewarding Halloween celebration is going to take a lot of creativity. The first thing you have to do is choose a theme. Is there any popular movie or series that you really like? You could recreate your favorite scenes or episodes –Halloween doesn’t necessarily have to be bloodcurdling. Popular movie themes include Star Wars, any Disney movie, or DC heroes and villains. You can also channel your favorite celebrity or any iconic character. For those of us with naughty plans for Halloween, your decorating options are limitless. Feel free to let your mind devise means to scare the socks off your guests.

It’s important that you take note of the size of a decoration before paying for it. Ensure that its dimensions are going to fit the space you’ve prepared for it, because when it comes to pulling off a perfect Halloween scare, all the small details matter. A banner or wall hanging could be off by a few inches and ruin the whole effect. If it’s an item that requires assembly or installation, make sure you have the right hardware for the job. Pay attention to reviews on the product, as they’ll help you know how easy it’ll be to set up a decoration and care for it after it’s done its bit.

What is the Best Halloween Decoration?

It would be nice to stay at the top of your Halloween decorating game year after year, and that’s what the best decorations will do for you. Hopefully, our guide has armed you sufficiently enough to recognize them in this review.

Our Top Choice

AtmosFEARfx Ghostly Apparitions is a collection of unnerving specters in DVD format. It works with a projector to display ghostly images on your TV, walls, windows, floors, ceilings, and other surfaces outdoors and indoors. If the walking undead are your thing, we suggest another blood-curdling decoration in DVD format from this company: the AtmosFEARfx Zombie Invasion.

AtmosFEARfx Halloween Decorations ATX0009

Features

AtmosFX is a creative visual and sound effects studio dedicated to creating the most fantastic decorations yet; fantastic because the company brings your fears and fantasies to life, from spooky bone-chilling stalkers to good old Santa. The company was established in 2008 by Pete Reichert and Pete Williams, who had both done sophisticated video installations for the entertainment industry and museums in the past. It specializes in creating digital decorations that you can use to bring a whole new level of animation to your celebrations and holidays, and turn your home into an amusement park – of sorts. With a growing customer base, its decorations have expanded from spectacularly creepy Halloween favorites to include Christmas, Easter, Valentine and football-themed decorations and necessary set-up gear.

AtmosFEARfx Ghostly Apparitions features four eerily entertaining specters as they go about their unending haunting business. The DVD format means you can get your ghoulish Halloween fix on TV, or on any surface via a projector. Once you’ve inserted the disc into your DVD player, you get to meet your new housemates: the Head of the House, who’s constantly losing his head – literally; the Wrathful Wraith that roams your rooms and corridors in his fiery, infernal manner; the Beckoning Beauty whose bridal beauty you must resist; and the Ghoulish Girl in search of a tasty playmate.

You can set these spooky fellows to show up anywhere; all you need is a projector and a white sheet. The scenes can be looped so that you have all four of them continuously passing through walls and floating in front of your windows, or you can choose whichever of them suits your mood. Have this kit scare the scaredy cats, entertain the brave hearts, and do both for the in-betweens. You can set it to both horizontal (for windows) and vertical (for doors) display.

Rubie’s Yoda Candy Bowl Holder is a sure way to get the Force on your side this Halloween season. This 18-inch-tall guy is made with durable foam material and comes with a plastic bowl to hold treats. For those who’d prefer the crazed grin of DC Comics' colorful guy, Rubie’s also has the Rubie's DC Comics Joker Candy Holder and Bowl on offer.

Rubie’s Star Wars Candy Bowl Holder – Available in 5 Designs

Rubie’s Halloween Decorations 68371 - Yoda

Features

Rubie’s is a family-owned enterprise that was founded in 1951 to cater to the need for quality costumes in the entertainment industry and beyond. With a family of six market leaders in its portfolio, and a vast collection of holiday and party decorations and costumes, it’s the largest designer, producer, and supplier of these items in the world. Its aim is to heighten the fun and awesomeness of all your celebrations, from Easter to Christmas and all the birthdays and anniversaries in between. It holds some of the hottest licenses in its rich portfolio, which enables it to produce decorations and costumes from the latest movies. Its in-house team of adroit designers adds their own creations to the mix.

Rubie’s Yoda Candy Bowl Holder is a life-like replica of the great Jedi from George Lucas’ award-winning Star Wars movies. This Yoda is 18 inches tall and made from dense, injection-molded foam. The attention to detail is worthy of appreciation, and you’re sure to get a lot of comments and return trick-or-treaters with this guy. The green guy is designed to stand against a wall, as his back is hollowed out; it’s built without a back so that you have an opening behind.

The Yoda Candy Bowl Holder is a fun addition to your Halloween décor, as it’s a way to infuse the Star Wars theme in your home. The plastic bowl is removable, and can be replaced with your favorite bowl of a similar size and weight so that you don’t place undue stress on Yoda’s foam arms. We like the versatility, as it can be used at home or in the office. It can serve as a convenient place to hold snacks on movie night or a bowl of candy canes at Christmas.

Rubie’s makes other Halloween decorations, such as:

Rubie's Large Pink Spider Web with Spiders: Includes four plastic spiders and stretchy web up to 13 feet long

Rubie’s Wizard of Oz 18-Inch Wicked Witch Legs Prop: A pair of stuffed legs with the iconic ruby slippers on its feet

Rubie's Star Wars Darth Vader Candy Holder: See the helpful side of Darth Vader as he serves treats to your guests

Rubie’s A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Krueger Candy Bowl Holder: Creepy Freddy Krueger takes a break from the dream world to lend a hand at Halloween

The Crazy Bonez Pose-N-Stay Skeleton is a life-size plastic rendition of the human skeleton. With a 60-inch height and bendable arms and legs that lock in place, you can place this bony fella in any position you please. If you’d rather have a different bag of bones for your Halloween decorations, one from the avian family, get the Crazy Bonez Skeleton Raven.

Crazy Bonez Pose-N-Stay Skeleton – Stands 60-Inches Tall

Crazy Bonez Halloween Decoration Z18724

Features

The Crazy Bonez product line has lots of personality, and is a quite a big hit with a number of loyal customers who keep going back for more. It’s a line of life-size human and animal skeletons, with small touches of flaw or flair that make them deserving of the "crazy" in their name. They are dreamed up and manufactured by Seasons USA Inc., a leading provider of Halloween decorations, costumes, and accessories. Its large inventory includes Pirates of the Caribbean, Nightmare Before Christmas, and, of course, the Crazy Bonez collections. These are the most fun and interesting bunch of articulated bones you’ll find in the entire state – the ones in the last group even have their own Facebook page. It also includes decoration and costumes from Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, and other lines.

The Crazy Bonez Pose-N-Stay Skeleton gives you plenty of room to get creative with Halloween decorating this season. He’s a theme in himself. Since he’s a life-size skeleton with a 60-inch height, you can pair him with other bones from his product line, or you can incorporate skeleton body suits into your Halloween wardrobe. You can also just put him in any costume, and he’ll blend into any other themes you choose.

The Pose-N-Stay skeleton is built with durable, weather-resistant plastic that lasts a long time, so you get to create fun memories with this guy every season. The great thing about him is that he’s articulated; his knees and hips are moveable and can be locked into any position. His whole arms – wrists, elbows and shoulders – move in any degree of front and back movement, and they stay in those positions. His head moves back and forth, and his jaws move up and down. They keep in position too.

Add all these to a moveable ankles and a complete rib cage, and you’ll find that this bony fella will either have folks jumping out of their skins in fright or falling in love – depending on how you introduced him to them. He isn’t built to stand on his own and will need support to assume a standing position. There's also a loop connected to his head, so that he can hang around the house. All the moveable joints stay in position because of the tightly fitted screws connecting them.

The Fun Express Resin Pumpkin Halloween Train is an adorable and whimsical train set. Its three coaches are packed with the most eerily cute passengers you’ve ever seen. Its resin body is coated with bright orange paint. For some hair-raising crawling creepiness to balance out the cuteness, try the Fun Express Realistic Hairy Spider With LED Eyes.

Fun Express Resin Pumpkin Halloween Train – 3-Piece Train Set

Fun Express Halloween Decorations 93/420

Features

When you commit the necessary resources to creating a great line of awesome novelty products, party and educational supplies, and a vast variety of games and toys, it’s only natural for people to make you their first port of call when the need arises. This is the story of Fun Express Inc., a leading manufacturer and wholesale/business-to-business distributor of fun and functional products. It was founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Oriental Trading Co. With a product line of more than 40,000 fun items, it’s bursting with all the interesting gift items, seasonal products, and hilariously-themed décor goods you need to add plenty of character and spirit to your celebrations.

The Fun Express Resin Pumpkin Halloween Train might just be all you need to get your Halloween mantelpiece or centerpiece decoration checked off the shopping list. It’s a terribly cute three-piece train, with frightening freight enjoying the scenery from each of its three coaches. The healthy-looking pumpkins are made out of resin and are a bright orange color – as all deserving Halloween pumpkins should be.

The first two coaches sit on four wheels, while the last one sits on six. The train comes as a five-piece package consisting of three pumpkins and two chains. The chains are used to connect the pumpkins to each other, and that’s all you’ll need to do to set it up. The train reaches six inches at its tallest point and is 14 inches long.

Here are some other scary décor options from Fun Express:

Fun Express Plastic Halloween Spiders Party Favor: A gross of life-like spiders to sprinkle around

Forum Novelties’ Haunted House Giant Wall Décor is a 4 by 5.3-foot poster depicting a gruesome skull-framed firebox with a skull-fueled fire and a mantelpiece. It’s on a transparent plastic sheet and blends into the wall. If you prefer your severed heads with some flesh, order the Forum Novelties Inc Cut Off Head with Open Eyes.

Forum Novelties has been in business for over three decades. It’s a producer, importer, and distributor of holiday costumes, accessories, and decorations, and it also stocks novelty gift products. It has more than 8000 products in its collection, and all of its merchandise features superior craftsmanship and materials. To ensure that it keeps its customers satisfied and stays at the top its game, it stays on the lookout for changing trends and incorporates them into its process and products. For all your entertainingly weird costume and decoration needs, it just might be the one place to get them –if you’re a business, as it only sells to wholesale traders.

Forum Novelties’ Haunted House Giant Wall Décor is designed to send chills down the spines of the spineless and wrench the guts of the gutless. With some creativity, proper lighting, and positioning, it’ll create the right tones for your Halloween atmosphere. The 4 by 5.3-foot poster is a gruesome picture of a fireplace, dominated by skulls with blood-red eyes and cruel grins. The firebox is framed on all three sides by skulls; the fire burning in the hearth is fueled by skulls and bones instead of wood. Above them all is a mantelpiece with a couple of books sitting between two skulls with red candles burning on them.

This wall decoration is made of see-through plastic material that is the background for the pictures. When you place it against your walls, it’ll look as though the fireplace and its bony occupants are right there in the room – at least, unless you take a close look. It’s easy to hang up, and can be secured with tape and removed without damage, as the material is strong and sturdy.

Other Halloween decorations from this company include:

Forum Novelties’ Head in a Jar: We have a feeling your ingeniously mischievous mind will love this bloodied head in a plastic jar